I experienced "rough running" of my 2013 Honda Insight just prior to August of 2021. Initial work on the vehicle helped, but repairs became increasingly expensive and extensive. EX: A simple oil change on about 8/2/2021 (mileage at 64,545). At about mileage 68,370 the vehicle failed again (showing check engine light / stalling); repair shop found a misfire on cylinder #4, and all 8 of the spark plugs were replaced. Â Then on/about Nov./2022 (mileage at 71,988), the vehicle was running rough again (with check engine light on) and the repair shop found a miss in cylinder #4 again, and then replaced cylinder #4 Â spark plugs and coils. On/about Feb./2023, the vehicle had more problems (running rough) and then the repair shop found a misfire on #4 again (spark plug was replaced.) On/about 5/18/2023, I took my vehicle in for a routine oil change. About two days later, on/about 5/20/2023, I (along with my girlfriend) drove on the freeway for a long trip. We had only been on the freeway for a few miles when the engine died. I had accelerated to 75 m.p.h. on a slight upgrade and was in the process of setting the cruise control when the engine revved up to 4,000 r.p.m.'s (as if it was climbing a steep hill); several warning lights showed up on the dashboard. Â I immediately disengaged the cruise control while in the left lane and (thankfully due to no vehicles being near us) was able to get the vehicle off to the right edge of the freeway. The vehicle had no power. I called a tow truck and the driver attempted to drive the Honda Insight onto his ramp (with thick smoke billowing out of the exhaust pipe) but it was only able to go half the car length up the ramp. At first, I was told it needed 2 spark plugs and was fixed. I reminded them that all 8 had recently been replaced; they then said no compression on #2 / that engine was dead. Took it to Honda; diagnosed it as the oil consumption issue. Check lights are for systems: emmission, brake, VSA, w/ various other lights on dash.
2013 Honda Insight: engine failure
8 of the 45 complaints about the 2013 Honda Insight describe engine failure.
- owner complaints
- 8
- of this car's complaints
- 18%
- recalls
- 0
Engine failure by model year
- 20191
- 20138
- 20125
- 20031
What owners say
2013 Honda Insight Hybrid LX (4 cylinder) vehicle purchased on 8/19/14. thanks This complaint is was filed to due engine oil consumption on my Honda-hybrid. In 2020 my car began losing oil quite frequently as I was having to add or change the oil often. On 8/27/21 I took the vehicle to Honda of Downtown Los Angeles, Kesean Zachary informed me they would need to perform an engine oil consumption test and change the oil. Soon after that the car was again losing oil so I returned it to Honda of Downtown on 11/18/21, where Kesean checked the oil with the dipstick and informed that there was no oil consumption. A month later, the car was still losing oil.. this is my work car and I needed to get this problem resolved.. so I decided to take it back to where I purchased the car, Honda of Hollywood on 3/23/22. I spoke with Willie PIttman who informed me they would need to perform another engine oil consumption test and change the oil. He said to me, drive the vehicle for 1,000 miles and bring the car back - this was on a Wednesday, and on Saturday 3/26/22 I told my wife we were going for a drive to see how the car runs. We drove a 52 miles when we decided to head back home, we drove another 11 miles when the vehicle stalled on the 101-fwy in the City of Camarillo, the car just died while driving in the 2nd lane I veered to the right to try to make it to the shoulder but the car only idled over two more lanes to the right and died in the 4th lane, that's when my wife really panic. I had to replace the engine because the piston rings were all black carbon burnt which were burning the oil. Replaced the Electrical and the regular batteries . Replaced two emission exhausted sensors and also the computer.
We were driving our Honda in a 70mph zone and the car's speed suddenly dropped to 15mph. We were not able to drive any faster than 15mph and could have been killed while driving on a highway where other cars were driving at 70mph, or we could have caused a pile up of cars with multiple accidents. We were very lucky that we were able to pull over to the side of the highway before another car hit us. We were not even able to drive to an exit, and had to sit on the side of a busy highway for nearly 3 hours as we waited for a tow truck. Multiple warning lights came on at the same time the speed of the car suddenly dropped. Warning lights for most systems on the car starting flashing at this point, but not in advance to warn us. We had the car towed to a local mechanic and he told us that a piston in the engine had failed completely and the engine would need to be rebuilt. We contacted Honda on the first business day after our engine failed, which was Monday, November 15. The engine in our car is currently under an extended warranty with Honda because of problems with the pistons and engine. It was not part of a recall, but definitely should have been! Instead, Honda called it a "customer preference". Honda admitted to us on the phone that this was part of the "customer preference" and that the Honda dealer should repair the engine as part of the extended warranty; however, it has been nearly a month since our initial call to Honda and they still have not authorized the work. We have called them approximately 15-20 times in the past month and they continue to evade our calls by telling us that "a manager will get back to us". We have been told this repair will cost approximately $10,000, and therefore, it's not an option for us to just pay for the repair ourselves. Honda is aware of this safety issue, they have not issued a recall for it and they clearly have no intention of honoring their warranty for this issue. As consumers, we don't know what to do.
Traveling 65mph on highway with cruise control on. Lost power and check engine light came on. I pulled to the shoulder, engine continued to run, but would not accelerate. Turned car off and back on and multiple check messages displayed. I had car towed to local honda dealer shop. They informed me spark plugs needed to be replaced. I agreed, but next day they called to tell me the entire engine needed to be replaced. Honda has extended the engine warranty, but no one from dealer mentioned that. They wanted more for new engine than the car is worth.
2013 honda insight. Consumer writes in regards to excessive oil consumption. *ld consumer sent additional correspondence. *ld consumer sent additional correspondence. The consumer stated the vehicle would shake and hesitate while driving. *js the consumer stated the engine died twice almost causing a crash. The consumer was informed the vehicle was operating as designed.
We purchased a new 2013 honda insight.the car had excessive oil consumption from the very beginning. It required one quart of oil to be added every 2-3 weeks. We repeatedly voiced our concerns in at least 5 occasions. Each time we were told by the the dealership that the oil consumption 'was normal'. Our complaints were ignored, our concerns dismissed.on january 25, 2017, while my husband was driving on highway I-78, the engine suddenly started losing power and completely stalled. Luckily, there were no other vehicles behind. The car was towed to the dealer, it was discovered there that a cylinder exhaust valve had broken off, causing severe and irreparable damage to pistons and the cylinder head. The engine was rendered useless. American honda rejected to cover any of the expenses. We were told to purchase a used engine, which cost us $4,689.51 out of our pocket in engine, parts and labor. After the repairs, the car continued having excessive oil consumption. On august 24, 2017, the 2nd engine also blew up, coincidentally while driving on highway I-78. This time, we were informed that there was an internal memo from american honda, extending engine warranty to 8 years for insight models 2012 and 2013. American honda keeps this warranty extension quietly. It might appear that they are just waiting for accidents and/or complaints to happen, and only then offer the warranty extension. I believe this is a big safety and warranty issue. I fear for my husband's and other consumers' safety. American honda rejected honoring the warranty coverage, not to reimburse us for the $4,689.51 we paid for the first time engine replacement. This request of ours was rejected for without substantive arguments. While american honda failed to address this issue, engines for this model started failing at about the 100k mile mark, something that has happened to many insight car owners.
The vehicle has on-going "oil consumption" issues that american honda neglected to address. As a result, the oil goes up exhaust pipes to caused engine over heat and blow up during driving on highway. American honda issued an "internal memo" to extend engine warranty to 8 years without notifying car owners. However, they failed to cover our blew-up engine when the first time happened and charged us $4600 for an used engine. Within 8 months, the second engine blew up again on the highway. American honda finally covered the second engine repair. The american honda rejected to reimburse the first engine blow-up. They denied anything wrong with the engine, but the extended the warranty to 8 years??? We have the records for both engine blow-ups.
Excessive oil consumption - warning lights do not come on to tell you there is an issue with low oil. Only notice at time of oil changes that levels seemed low. And not oil is basically needing to be checked and monitored like gas. And then sudden emission light at only 60,000 miles on the car and I am told all they will do is fix something once it breaks. Why wont honda just replace engine pieces without continued impact on my time. This oil test is going to cost me an additional 2 hours out of my days coming up for every 1000 miles, 3x!
Service bulletins that may apply
- The oil control rings may become clogged with carbon deposits
- Customer letter
- The oil control rings may become clogged with carbon deposits
- This bulletin is replaced by s/b 16-101, warranty extension: 201213 insight oil consumption exceeds...
- Dealer message
- Engine oil consumption exceeds customer expectations
- Engine oil consumption exceeds customer expectations
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2013 Honda Insight engine failure
Is engine failure a common problem on the 2013 Honda Insight?
8 of 45 owner complaints about the 2013 Honda Insight (18%) mention engine failure. The model year with the most reports is 2013.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2013 Honda Insight?
There are 0 recalls and 9 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2013 Honda Insight
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2013 Honda Insight?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history